


Lake Wics

by silversh (orphan_account)



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Angst and Humor, Casual Sex, F/M, M/M, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-15
Updated: 2014-01-04
Packaged: 2018-01-04 18:05:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1084049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/silversh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aury finds work at a local ice cream shop and learns that life is one hell of a ride.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This doesn't really have a fandom, but I found inspiration for it after watching the movie Ten Inch Hero. I'm mostly just writing this for fun and enjoyment, so I hope you like it!

It’s not that I don’t want to go to college, it’s just that I don’t want to be in debt the rest of my life. 

It’s the middle of the summer, senior year, and I’m looking through the endless stack of brochures laying on my bed about various colleges. I’ve been at this all morning and I’m beginning to get tired from reading all of this fine print and lies about how much fun and free time I’ll have while I attend said college. What a bunch of bull shit.

In the kitchen, the smell of burnt garlic toast still wanders aimlessly through the air. Note to self number one: Do NOT trust eleven year old sister to make garlic toast. That was one night I am happy to forget. 

I walk over and open the fridge to disappointment. There’s a jug of milk, a carton of eggs, some apples, and what looks like bologna, but I can’t be sure. Sighing, I close the fridge door and head over to the cabinets above the stove. I’m not sure what I’m hoping to find, but hopefully something edible that doesn’t taste like it’s been expired for over a year. To my surprise, I find a box of cheesy mashed potatoes. This time sighing with relief, I turn on the stove and grab a pot and the milk from the fridge. At least I won’t have to survive off of eggs and expired bologna today.

I’m home alone today, my little sister Reagan with my dad and my mom at her boyfriends. I don’t mind it though because that means I can sing and dance in my underwear to music that nobody knows I listen to without being judged. With that in mind, I finish my bowl of cheesy mashed potatoes and head back into my room to get my iHome speaker and iPhone. Lunging back into the living room because I can, I plug in my speaker and select my favorite classic rock song. I turn it all the way up and sing along at the top of my lungs, swaying my hips in no specific rhythm. 

In the middle of singing “SHE’S MY CHERRY PIE!” in my awful and loud voice, the song cuts off. Annoyed, I pick up my phone and answer my mom’s call.

“Hello?”  
“Aury? Did you get through all of those college brochures?”  
“Yes. I like Michigan and that one in Chicago. There’s also always Ivy Tech if nothing else.”  
“Okay. Well, Bren and I are going in town to meet some friends. Do you need anything.”  
“No, I’m good.”  
“Are you sure? I could come by and bring you some tenderloin we made last night.”

Really? You couldn’t have called me before I settled for cheesy mashed potatoes?

“No, I’m fine.”  
“Okay. Well, see you later then, bye.”  
“Bye.”

Annoyed that my mom’s phone call ruined my jam, I flop down on the couch. I flick on the TV to some movie that’s from the 80’s and attempt to watch it. After about ten minutes of trying to enjoy the bad humor and terrible acting, I give up and decide to get dressed to go on a bike ride around town. I skip back into my room, enjoying the cool rush of air conditioned air as I do. In my room, where it is considerably cooler than in the in the living room due to the fact that the air conditioner just had to be installed in my room because “It flows better from your room!”, I open my wooden closet door to my mess of clothes. On the floor of my closet lays almost all of my clothes. It’s summer, so why should I clean my room? I bend down to look through the heap of clothes, my knee popping on the way down. Damn ACL surgery. I just had to snap my ACL in half during an eighth grade basketball game. My coaches blamed it on ‘bad defense’. Whatever.

Finished with my internal rant, I pick out a navy blue tank top and some jean shorts. I throw them on and then scramble around for my high-tops. I find them laying on top of my desk, all weather beaten and sad. I slip them on, simultaneously looking for a hair tie. Once I find one, I slip in front of my six foot mirror and put my long, almost black hair into a braid down my back. It’s finally gotten to my desired length after the horrible mistake of cutting it freshman year. One glance at my face and I decide that maybe I should put on some makeup. 

Should I put on eyeliner and eyeshadow, or just eyeliner? Or just eyeshadow? Ugh, the struggles of being a teenaged girl. I decide on just the eyeliner and mascara, then putting on my mask of bronzer to even out the red spots left over from my sunburn. I’ve managed to get a decent tan so much that I’m the darkest out of my friends, which I consider an accomplishment. Take that, you white bitches. 

I admire my handy work after applying my makeup. One thing I do like about my face is my eyes. They’re a stunning blue and I like to use them to make me look sexy. Or at least I try. I’m also fond of my eyebrows due to the fact that I’ve tried so hard to get the right shape in them. They’re finally to the thickness I want them and they’re as dark as my hair, making my eyes stand out even more. Finished with my once weekly admiration session, I grab my phone and canvas bag and head to the garage to grab my bike. 

My bike is the old fashion style with the big wheels and classic design. It’s black and has a basket on the handlebars, which I throw my bag and phone into. I kick the kickstand and head out into the summer afternoon heat of Indiana. The sun is burning bright and hot in the sky and causes me to squint to be able to see. Sweat is already forming on my back after only traveling a few feet from my house. Somewhat regretting my decision to go outside, I continue on into town.

In town, many people are out enjoying the summer air. There are couple taking a stroll on the sidewalks, people on jogs, some old lady walking her dog. Smiling to myself, I ride my bike down to my friend’s house on the corner square. I wave and smile to a few people from school and people that I’ve known since I was little. The Cruabas are out pulling their two twin girls along behind them in a pink wagon. They’re my mom’s friends and I babysit for them sometimes. Reagan’s little friend Jenny runs out of a shop, almost getting run over by me. She giggles then continues running off in the direction of the lake. The lake, otherwise known as Lake Wics, is the popular hangout for everyone in town. Everyone goes there to do everything, even smoke pot. But those who smoke pot are smart enough to smoke in the woods out away from the main crowd. 

On my way to my friend’s house, sign hanging in one of the shop windows catches my eye, mainly because I’ve never seen it before. 

“Help wanted. No ‘preps’ please. Or douchebags.”

Intrigued, I lock my bike against the parking meter and head inside.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ice cream made with the tears of God.

Inside, the cool air brushes against me with relief. I breathe it in, glad to be out of the heat. I look ahead of me and see that I’ve stepped inside an ice cream shop. It’s not the ice cream I usually go to up the block, but the one those strange kids that sit in the corner of the cafeteria go to. Feeling like I don’t belong in the shop, I start to head back out the door. Before I do though, someone catches my eye. It’s Luke, Jenny’s older brother. He’s the valedictorian of our grade and one of our top runners in cross country. Wondering why a guy like him would be here, I go over to say hi.

“Hi, Luke,” I say, standing beside the table he’s at.

Luke looks up at, obviously startled that someone is talking to him. He quickly brushes his startled look of his face and says, “Aury! Hi! Uh, what are you doing here?”

“I was just wondering the same thing,” I reply, sitting down across from him.

“Well, I come here to get ice cream and relax,” he says, refusing to look me in the eyes.

Trying to grab his attention, I say, “I saw that sign on the door. No preps or douchebags. Interesting, huh?”

Luke finally meets my gaze and gives a weak smile. “Yeah, I made it actually.”

“Really?” I say, suddenly intrigued again. “Do you work here?”

“Yeah, yeah I do. Just started a couple days ago. It’s nice, maybe you should apply,” he adds quickly.

I smile, not really sure I want to work at a place like this. It’s not that I’m a prep or a douchebag, but I’m not a total loser either, and neither is Luke. I’m still a little confused as to why he is here.

“Uhh, maybe, but why exactly are you here? Not to say it’s a bad place, but you don’t really seem the type, to, you know, hang out here.”

Luke gives a little chuckle and says, “I said the same thing when I first walked in here. I about walked right out but Marly over there,” he points to a tan guy in a v neck and tattoos along his arms scooping ice cream from behind the counter, “stopped me and asked me if I was looking for work, so I said sure and here I am.”

“I guess it seems like a friendly place,” I say as I take a better look at the room. It’s the typical design of most of the shops around here. Lake Wics is painted on the back wall, fishing nets and sea shells decorating the tables and counters. Typical lake style decor. The only real difference is the people. There are a couple of guys sitting at the table behind Luke, deep in discussion about the dynamics and storyline of some video game. Up at the counter, a guy is wearing green plaid shorts and a Led Zeppelin t-shirt, is hair in a spiked mohawk. One glance at his face though, and I have to admit he’s kinda cute. He catches me looking at him and winks at me, a smirk splayed across his face. I don’t recognize him though, which brings me to question Luke about him.

“Who’s the guy with the mohawk?”

“Julian? He’s from the town over. Nice guy, once you get past his arrogance and bad pickup lines,” Luke laughs.

I laugh and begin to relax a little. Suddenly this shop doesn’t seem as outcast as it did when I walked in a few minutes ago. And hey, a girl could always use a few extra bucks.

“You know, I think I would like working here. Where do I sign up?”

Surprised at what I had just said, Luke stares at me in disbelief before he answers. 

“Just tell Marly you’re looking for work. He’ll ask you a couple of weird questions but just answer them with your usually wit and sass and I think he’ll hire you.”

I look for the guy wearing a v-neck and arms adorned with tattoos that Luke introduced as Marly earlier. I spot him behind the counter handing an ice cream cone to one of the video game discussing guys. I walk up to him, a little apprehensive as to what he’s going to ask me.

“Excuse me, Marly?”

The man looks up at me and smiles a friendly smile. He leans up on the counter and places his chin in his hands like a pleading little girl.

“Hello there, pretty girl.”

“Uhh, hi! I was just wondering if I could maybe get a job here. My friend Luke said you were hiring.”

“Absolutely! You’re hired! Any girl Luke sends my way must be worthy of scooping ice cream in my shop.”

“Really? You don’t, you know, want to interview me or anything like that?”

Marly then leans up off the counter and scoops up a scoop of some cinnamon looking ice cream. He hands it to me and says, “Taste this.”

Tentatively, I grab the scoop from him and observe it in my hands. It looks like maybe it’s cinnamon flavored, but it sure as hell doesn’t smell like cinnamon. To be honest, it smells like shit. Still apprehensive, I take a lick of the unknown substance and my taste buds react with delight. It tastes like peanut butter mixed with the tears of God.

“Damn!”

“You like it? Made it myself. Call it “Mar’s Mix”. Secret recipe.”

“It tastes like God himself sprinkled his tears in it.”

Laughing and giving me a delighted look, Marly says, “Hired. Come in tomorrow morning say, 8, and we’ll set up a schedule. And here,” he gathers three big scoops of Mar’s Mix into a cone and hands it to me, “enjoy.”

I say my thanks and stroll back to the table Luke and I were sitting at. Luke sees the ice cream in my hands and questions me with his eyes and a playful smile. I take a big lick of the holy ice cream and smile, nodding my head yes. He gives me a thumbs up and reaches a finger out to take a bit of my ice cream. He licks his finger in his mouth with a delightful moan and smiles at me.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you around?” he asks me with a smile.

“I’ll see ya around,” I say as I get up and wave goodbye to Marly and head out of the shop.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash is ashy if you know what I mean.

“What’s that?” 

I sit on the deck chair facing Lake Wics in Hally’s backyard. She’s lying out on her cushioned recliner all lathered up in tanning oil and squinting up at me through the harsh rays of the hot summer sun.

“Mar’s Mix from that ice cream shop down the road.”

“The weird one, like where all the loner kids go to? Why were you in there?”

I take a glance out at the lake. Hally lives on the private side of the lake where each house has their own beach and dock, so only her older brother and his friend are out in the water. They’re on a surfboard trying to do handstands and stupid tricks. I take another lick of my ice cream and relish in it’s holy deliciousness.

“Yeah, that one. I saw a hiring sign so I walked in and then I found Luke sitting in there. Turns out he works there so he said I should apply so I did and now I work there. The shop owner, Marley, gave me this.”

Hally sits up on her elbows and gives me a look like “Really? You work at a place that virgins go to scope out girls?” “Dude, seriously? You work there? What, did they offer you a huge paycheck or something?”

“No, actually I don’t even know how much I get paid. I go in tomorrow to set up a schedule.”

I look at Hally’s face and laugh. “Dude, relax! It’s a job that pays money. What’s the harm? And Luke works there so it can’t be that bad.”

Hally gives a disbelief kind of sigh and says, “Yeah, I guess. And Luke is kinda cute, right? Maybe you could..” She makes kissing noises and raises her eyebrows at me mockingly.

“Hally! No!” I laugh, “Luke is a friend, I’ve known him all my life. For God’s sake I even went over to his house everyday after half-day kindergarten.”

“Ahh, half-day kindergarten. Naps and cookies and it was all over by noon,” Hally sighs out, leaning back onto her back and laughing.

I laugh, twitching when a drop of Mar’s Mix drips onto my hand. I get up and head into Hally’s house, familiar with every room and every corner of it. It’s practically my second home and where I live in the summer. I head into the kitchen and grab a napkin to wrap around my cone and then head back outside to the deck. Hally looks like she’s fallen asleep so I sit and watch her brother and his friend out on the lake. They must have just noticed that I was sitting there because I see them waving and running up to me. I smile and wave back at them. They run up to me glistening in water and sweat, leaving puddles where they stand on the shaded deck. 

“Hey Aury, what’s up?” asks Ash, Hally’s brother. His friend, Wes, tries to grab my ice cream to which I swat his hand hand raise an eyebrow at. 

“Just chillin’, Ash. How’s the lake?”

“Wet,” Ash laughs. I roll my eyes.

“Oh really? I thought maybe it would be dry and sticky.”

Ash laughs and plops down on the set of deck chairs sitting across from me, Wes doing the same. “What flavor is that, peanut butter? I know you love your peanut butter.”

“Nope. Mar’s Mix. Got it free from that ice cream shop down the street. Tastes like heaven. Here,” I lean over and hand it to Ash.

Ash doesn’t even question it and takes a bite off the top. He swallows and gives me a quizzical look, as if he’s analyzing every taste and quiver of it as it goes down his throat. He then smiles and widens his eyes at me, taking another big bite of my ice cream. “Shit tastes like Jesus’s tears!”

I laugh and motion for him to give it back to me, but he quickly avoids my motions and continues to eat it. I get up and try to force him to hand the ice cream over but he flicks his still wet hand in my face and laughs mockingly. I pinch his arm and he whimpers, dropping the ice cream on the deck. It lands with a depressing ‘splat’. We stare at it longingly, splattered across the wooden deck floor. Ash looks up at me, giving his best puppy dog eyes and pouting lip. I roll my eyes and say, “Your house, your mess.”

“Hey now! It was your ice cream, ass butt! You clean it up!”

“You dropped it.”

“You pinched me.”

“I have that video of you when you took too much medication.”

That shuts Ash up and he just stares at the ice cream now melting into the cracks of the deck. “You’re so unfair,” he whines, giving me a little shove on the shoulder as he gets up and goes into the house. I smile and continue staring at the ice cream as it slowly melts away. The sound of the lake and the summer birds occupy the silence before Wes speaks up.

“I swear. Just marry him already, would you?” Wes laughs at me, giving me an exhausted look.

“Oh but Wes, that’s what he wants me to do,” I say as I hear Ash coming back out onto the deck. Ash glares at me and then cleans up what remains of the mostly melted ice cream. He finishes and throws the paper towel in the trash, sitting back down next to Wes. We all three sit in silence, just listening to nature and the soft hum of the central air coming from the house. It’s all very relaxing and calm and makes me want to just sit out there and never have to listen to anything else ever again. I stare out at Lake Wics and wonder how far across it goes. I can see the outline of pine trees just across the horizon, barely visible because of the distance. The sun gleams on the lake, leaving a blindingly white spot in the center of the lake. I remember all the times I’ve spent on the lake in front of me with Hally and Ash and Wes. I’ve known Hally ever since that day in first grade when I told her I liked her shoes and she said she liked my eyelashes. We bonded ever since. I’ve spent every summer at Hally’s house and her family has become my second family. I can come to them for anything and I’ve even spent the night at Hally’s house when things got rough at home. All this time at Hally’s has led me to be close with Ash. He was my first kiss. I was seven and he was eight. It was summer and we were playing with firecrackers because it was the Fourth of July. He threw one at me that went off and made me cry. It must have made him feel bad because he kissed after he did that and said he was sorry. Seven year old me thought Ash was the smoothest guy ever and told him it was alright and that he can throw things at me whenever he wants. Ash, to this day, still throws things at me whenever he wants, only he doesn’t get to kiss me and say sorry afterwards. Ash and I have always had this weird relationship. I like him and he likes me but we’ve never dated or anything like that. He dates the pretty cheerleaders and sports stars and I date boys that I don’t even really like. We have a complicated friendship. And Wes, oh Wes. I love Wes. He came into my life through Ash. Apparently the story goes that Ash pushed Wes into the lake when he was around five or six and nearly killed him, so naturally they became best friends. Wes and I are always joking around. We hardly ever have a serious moment and if we do it’s ruined by one of us cracking an inappropriate joke. Wes gets me, too. Like this one time I came over to Hally’s crying because this boy told me I had smelly breath. So I came rushing over to Hally and telling her to grab me some breath mints and gum, but Wes stopped me and told me that the boy only said I have smelly breath because I really do, which made me cry more. But Wes then said that his favorite meal his mom made made you have really smelly breath and that my breath made him remind me of his favorite meal and somehow that cheered me up. And there is also that one time Wes broke into my house in the middle of the night to take me potato-ing, but I’ll get into that story some other time because the summer silence gets interrupted by Ash.

“So, Aury, are we gonna go tubing or what?”

I smile at Ash, a dangerous and competition ready smile splayed across my face, “Dude, yes!”

\---------

It’s 6:30 in the morning, day after I got the job at the ice cream shop that I’m now aware I don’t know the name to. I’m laying on the basement floor at Hally’s underneath the fort me, Hally, Ash, and Wes built last night. Hally is laying next to me, sleeping as soundly as an old fat man. Her dark brown, long hair is put up in a messy bun on the top of her head. Her cheeks are tinted red with sunburn and her nose dangerously freckled. Wes is sprawled across the floor at my feet, his mess of blonde hair unkempt and tangled across his pillow. Ash’s head is laying on my stomach, his eyelids twitching along with whatever dream he’s having. His dark brown hair smells like fish and dirty lake water. I take a moment to glance across his face and notice that he’s gotten more freckles from the sun. His nose is burnt and starting to peel at the end. I have a creepy urge to peel of his dead skin but stop myself, thinking of how awkward it would be to wake up to someone peeling the dead skin off of your nose. I try to get up as smoothly as possible so to not wake anyone else up, but I fail. I roll over on my side too fast and Ash’s head knocks onto the floor.

“Ughh.”

I cringe, pausing for no apparent reason. Ash rolls over and open his sleepy hazel eyes. 

“What the hell, Aury?”

“Sorry, sorry. I was trying not to wake anyone.”

Ash rubs his eyes and lets out a yawn, stretching. He sits up looks around, taking in the fort and looking at Wes and Hally. “Did I…?”

Ash scratches his head, motioning at where he was sleeping and pointing at me. Slow to catch on at first, I look at him quizzically and scrunch my eyebrows. “Did you what?”

“Where did I sleep?” He asks, stifling another yawn.

Catching on, I say, “Oh, on my stomach. Was I comfy?” I tease.

Giving a lazy laugh, he says, “To be honest, no. My neck feels like a rock.”

Continuing to stand up, I give a weak laugh that gets interrupted by a yawn. I stretch and look around for my phone. I find it sitting on the floor and half dead. I have three messaged from my mom asking where I was and saying that I better not be sleeping with any boys or smoking pot. I groggily reply back to her, reporting that I stayed over at Hally’s and no, I did not sleep with any boys or smoke pot. I don’t really count Ash and Wes as the ‘boys’ my mom is referencing to in her message. I plug my phone in and then stretch again. “You hungry?” I ask Ash.

“When am I ever not?”

 

\-----

“What will it be, mad’am? Buttered toast or the most sugar coated of cereals?”

“Oh it’s such a hard decision! Toast with milk, please,” I joke.

Ash makes me toast and pours me some milk as I sit at the breakfast bar and turn on the TV in the kitchen. I have no idea what day it is so I have no clue what shows are on at the moment. I surf through the channels until I settle on reruns of Friends. Ash clamps down my buttered toast and milk in front of me and leans across the counter, eating some pop tarts. We sit and eat in silence, watching as Ross screams “PIVOT!” while holding up a couch.

“So, what did ya’ dream about last night?” Ash asks through a mouthful of strawberry pop tarts.

“Not sure, though I do remember some clip about a tree house and a big blue robot.”

“Hmmph, interesting. Maybe you’re subconsciously hoping to live in a tree house from the future.”

“Or maybe I subconsciously want to travel around in a flying tree house while being chased by a giant blue robot.”

“I like my idea better,” Ash jokes.

I give Ash a playful grin and go to put my plate and glass in the sink. I hear Ash laugh at the TV and smile to myself.

“Oh, hey, why are you up this early anyway? I mean, I know you’re a loser nerd and all that but you are a stressed out teenager who needs all the sleep they can get,” Ash says to me when I sit back down at the breakfast bar.

“I, uh, got a job,” I say sheepishly. Ash is the epitome of ‘I’m a teenager who doesn’t want to grow up and therefore doesn’t want any responsibilities’ so I know he is going to make fun of me for even mentioning the word “job”.”

“Hahaha! A job? Jeez, Aury, seriously? What happened to enjoying the last summer of your high school career?” Ash says to me.  
“I don’t know, I just saw the sign and walked in and before I knew it I had a job.”

Ash comes around the breakfast bar and sits next to me and says, “Well, please tell me it’s a kick-ass job like a job at the car shop or something.”

“I scoop ice cream out of big fat tubs. Not totally lame,” I say back.

After giving my job a few seconds of thought, Ash says, “No, not lame, but not kick-ass either. More like nonchalant, if you know what I mean..”

Giving Ash a quizzical look because no, I do not know what he means, I say, “Yeah, sure Ash. But I get to have Mar’s Mix for free so I guess my job just got a little more kick-ass, huh?”

Ash lets that thought roll around in his head and then simply gives it a nod and an arched eyebrow. He then playfully slaps me on the shoulder and proceeds to head outside to the deck. I follow him out and step outside in the cool summer morning. I’ve always loved the time just before the sunrise. The way the sky is painted with baby blues and hushed pinks always left me in a state of awe. I step off the deck and into the grass, feeling the dew cover my bare feet. I hear the soft splashing of the lake and the morning chirps of the birds and smile to myself. Continuing on to the cold sand, I hear Ash’s footsteps behind me. He comes and stands next to me, looking out over the lake and at the now rising sun as is caresses the water and pine trees in the distance. We both watch the sunrise for a few moments, just taking in the beauty of it. 

“I could stare at it all day,” I say when the sun finally breaks over the tips of the trees in the distance.

Ash looks at me then, just staring at me with his now green eyes with a hint of soft brown flecking in their centers. He gives a soft smile and whispers, “Me too.”

I stare back at him for a moment, then break off and glance out at the lake again. There’s already a boat out, just cruising along and playing some music. The people in it wave and I wave back, though I have no clue who those people are. I don’t recognize their boat. “Who’s that?” I ask Ash.

Ash finishes waving at the unknown boat and says, “I don’t know, vacationers, maybe?”

I shrug and sit down in the sand. It’s still cool, so I bury my feet in it. Ash does the same beside me.

“What time do you work? I’ll come in and buy me some of that Mar’s Mix you’re talking about,” Ash says.

“Eight. But I don’t work at our usual ice cream shop. I work at the other one, down the street from you.”

“Really? Huh, cool. I’ve always wondered what it looked like in there.”

Surprised that Ash didn’t question the place like Hally did, I reply, “Just like any other shop in town. Lake decor and the distinct smell of fish.”

Ash gives a soft laugh and leans back in the sand, his arms above his head. I look back at him and smile.

“I’ll come by for lunch, scope the place out,” Ash mumbles out.

I lay back like Ash, my arms behind my head. We lay there just looking up at the sky and listening to the sounds of summer, the air getting casually warmer each passing minute, until it’s time for me to head out and start my first day of work at the ice cream shop.


End file.
